Mixtapes
by JackieOh
Summary: It starts with a mixtape, leads to friendship, and ends with romance. A Jeremy/OC oneshot that isn't necessarily AU but doesn't exactly follow VD's plot. Full summary inside.


**Full Summary: **It is an inevitability that, upon entering Stonerdom, you will find your way to Mystic Mixtapes. Which in hindsight isn't much of a surprise. I mean really, Eddie wanted to know what her brother Jay was expecting when he named the record store _Mystic_ Mixtapes. He may as well hung a sign with "BURNOUTS ASSMEBLE!" written across it.

But that's not the point.

The _point_ is Jeremy Gilbert was destined to come in Jason Briggs' record store. That shit was predetermined. But falling for Eddie? He'd done that by choice.

_**Mixtape**_

Eddie had never been good with boundaries. And it wasn't so much that she didn't _understand_ them, she just liked to overstep them. It's not like she made people uncomfortable or anything (no matter how much her brother likes to say otherwise) so what was there to lose by giving Jeremy Gilbert- a boy she had spoken to approximately thrice in her short lifetime- a mixtape at his parent's wake? She was just trying to _help_. Because there is only one other person in Mystic Falls who knows what it is like to be orphaned at fifteen years old and that's Edna Briggs. Besides, music was scientifically proven to help people grieve. Probably.

Jeremy gave her CD (an outdated medium, but nostalgic enough for him not to mind) a listen- if not for genuine curiosity than out of guilt. Because three days into life post-parents he understood what the other side of those Pity Looks felt like, and hated his past self for shooting them Eddie's way.

The mix started with Hear You Me by Jimmy Eat World and ended with a The Wonder Years song called We Won't Bury You. Jeremy cried from the first chord until the last. Which might have been concerning if he hadn't really, _really_ needed a good cry (or at least, one he didn't have to stifle for his sister's sake).

Jeremy went three whole months before scrounging up the courage to talk to Eddie, and even then it hadn't even been intentional.

He'd stumbled into Mystic Mixtapes high and looking to pass time until Vicki got off work. Eddie was behind the counter; popping a vibrant piece of gum while flipping idly through an outdated _Kerrang! Magazine_. A worn out baseball cap hung low over her eyes, but Jeremy could still spot her dark circles an entire isle away. He tried not to think about why she was tired (Were the rumors Hunter Green spreading of their "nightly hookups" true?) but, despite himself, Jeremy was a thinker. A curious, nosy, thinker who post-mixtape was too interested in Eddie Briggs for his own good. Plus he was high, and Jeremy Gilbert was talkative when under The Influence.

So he crossed the store, asked "Late night?", and then threw a _Rolling Stone_ onto the counter so he seemed like he had a reason for approaching her.

Eddie rang up the magazine before answering. "Late enough," she said. "Anything else?"

She regarded him so impersonally Jeremy felt almost embarrassed. The blonde (unknowingly) made him sob like a bitch- not to mention helped him come to semi grips with his parents' deaths- but they were strangers when it came down to it. And maybe it was the high or how good Eddie looked in shorts, but Jeremy really wanted to change that.

"Any good album releases?" He decided music was the safest topic to go with, and was proven correct when Eddie's face lit up like an honest to god Christmas tree.

"Hell yeah," she said before hopping the counter (which was equally as unnecessary as it was hot). "Follow me."

And that's how it starts.

* * *

Elena doesn't like the term "stalking". She's just… following. And not in a I'm-Going-To-Go-To-Your-Hair-Dresser's-And-Steal-A-Lock-Of-Your-Hair kind of way. She's just _concerned_, okay? Because Jeremy is missing curfew even when she knows Vicki Donavan has work. So either he's found other people to party with or- no. She doesn't want to think about "or".

Besides, Bonnie is on some road trip with her grams to "dig up family roots" (whatever that means) and Elena can't stand being cooped up in her room anymore. There's only one week left of summer and she's got to reacclimate to society _sometime_. Even if it's by the way of st- _following_- her little brother.

She isn't surprised when Jeremy ducks into Mystic Mixtapes. It's a touchstone for the town's delinquents which, no matter how much it pains her to admit, is a category her brother now falls under. Elena's relieved though. Because him broadening his music taste was a Best Case Scenario sort of thing, and lately Jeremy didn't really go that route. (She tried not to hope he'd make a habit of it.)

Her cynicism lead her to keep following him. There had to be something more than just CDs and vinyl to keep him coming to the record store almost nightly. Elena peered through the storefront window suspiciously before a grin forced its way onto her face. A cute girl. Of _course_ it was a cute girl. Jeremy may have been a different person that he was four months ago but he was still a teenage boy. And girls who look like Eddie Briggs are basically teenage boys' kryptonite. (That is to say: blonde, petite, and mysterious.)

To Elena's disadvantage, she had limited information on Eddie Briggs. She was in Jeremy's grade, her older brother owned Mystic Mixtapes, she used popular phrases ironically, her mother succumbed to dementia two years prior, and she played in an all-girl rock band with Caroline's second-cousin Heather. But even still; Elena knew the blonde was a much healthier match for Jeremy than Vicki Donovan. And from the way Jeremy was laughing at whatever anecdote Eddie was telling? It appeared he was starting to think so too.

Turning away from the record store, still wearing her grin, Elena made a mental note to discuss extending Jeremy's curfew with Aunt Jenna.

* * *

Eddie has a tell: when she likes a boy she tends to DJ the store more vigilantly. So when Jason pops in between breakfast and lunch dates and hears her guilty pleasure song (23 by Mike WiLL Made-It and a whole bunch of other artists he doesn't particularly care for) coming from the speakers, he knows something's up.

Jason crosses the store in search of his little sister with a devious smile on his face. He only has ten minutes before having to meet Stu at The Grill, and he wants to know all about Eddie's crush before then. But Jason stops short when he finally sees her, because she's currently singing over a cute boy who's proclaiming this song is "trash". (He's smiling when he says that though, so Jason doesn't think he really minds.)

Being a good brother, Jason decides to leave the young couple alone. He'll get answers over dinner.

* * *

Jeremy can hardly believe the same girl who introduced him to a band called _The Mountain Goats_ can recite every lyric to Call Me Maybe. Yet here they are: in the courtyard during lunch on their first day of sophomore year sharing pair of bubblegum pink headphones and sitting so close Eddie's perpetually unruly hair keeps tickling the side of his neck.

"Hey I just met you-" insert jig here "and this is crazy!" My god, was she seriously doing _the lawnmower_ right now? "But here's my number!" Cue Eddie lifting her banana to her ear. "So call me maybe!"

And just like that, the stresses of the day melted from Jeremy's shoulders as he laughed. Elena may think he's a screw up and Vicki chose Tyler, but at least he still has Eddie.

* * *

She pretends to listen when Jeremy geeks out over the expanding universe. It's rare that he shows this side of himself- Jeremy pre parental death- so she doesn't want to interrupt. It's just that while she thinks astrology or whatever is cool (stars are astrology, right?) hearing Jeremy rattle off scientific theories gives her a migraine.

So she tunes him out and tries not to feel bad about it. And it's not like Eddie's ignoring him _completely_. In fact, she's intently focused on him. Because it hasn't escapes her attention Jeremy is _really_ fuckin' cute. Even when his expression is vaguely annoyed.

Wait a second. _Why_ does Jeremy look vaguely annoyed?

"Uhm," Eddie fumbled. "What?"

"You were humming," he replied. (Humming was another one of Eddie's tells. If she was humming that meant she was ignoring you. It was both unintentional and infuriating.)

Eddie says "sorry" but doesn't sound nearly as guilty as she should. Jeremy can't bring himself to mind. Especially when she's smiling at him like that.

* * *

When she catches wind that Say Anything is coming to Virginia, Eddie freaks out. They're Jeremy's favorite band and he's been down in the dumps since Vicki Donovan was attacked at the back to school bonfire, so she decides to surprise him with tickets.

Elena catches sight of Eddie mid-skip. She, like most mornings, is headed straight for Jeremy's locker. But there's something different in the blonde's smile today. And in her hands. But why would Eddie Briggs hand deliver a letter to Jeremy?

From to perplexed expression on her brother's face, Elena supposes he doesn't know either.

"Open it," Eddie demanded with a wide grin.

"Oh my god," said Jeremy. He withdrew the tickets from their casing with shaking hands. "Eddie, oh my god."

"You're welco-_Jeremy_!"

He lifted the petite blonde with ease and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. Their _first_ hug. And later on Eddie would tell Heather she nearly melted because, oh my god, Jeremy Gilbert had a hotter body than he lead on.

"Is that your brother's girlfriend?"

Elena turns to Stefan with a grin and says, "Not yet."

* * *

He tries to kiss her after the band plays Alive With The Glory Of Love, but Eddie stops him. Which surprised the both of them really. Because the sexual tension has been building for over a month now, and it's coming from both sides.

"You're high," Eddie says as if he doesn't already know.

"So?"

"_So_ you're not thinking straight. How about this: if you still want to kiss me when you're sober you can. Deal?" She doesn't wait for him to answer. The next song is already playing. "Now give me a boost. I want to crowd surf!"

(They kiss on her front porch when they're both sober and very, very sure of what they want.)


End file.
